Hello! I know it has been incredibly long since my last update, but I had so much going on and the WORST writer's block. It was insane. Then we got a new computer and we just got Microsoft Word on this computer and transferred all of our files over. I know it's crazy, but hayy, what're you going to do? Anyway, I'm so sorry for your long wait, but here it is. Finally, the fourth installment of 'Villains'.
Disclaimer: Well, dear readers, I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I do not, nor will I ever in any way own the Teen Titans. They belong to DC Comics and of course those jerk-offs who thought, "Hey, let's be terrible and cancel the show!" Yeah, jerk-offs, you guys suck. Enjoi!
VillainsBy: Table for Two
"Damian, eh? How could you manage to leave him out, hmm?" Slade narrowed his gaze as he sat back in his concrete throne; a small smirk playing on the lips hidden beneath his mask as he watched the malevolent man clench and unclench his fists as he paced back and forth in front of the large screen displaying his own Father's stern, set face.
"It's not possible…He should have died along with that wretch. My own Father…back from God knows where…" Briar paused and gripped the railing in front of him tightly as he glared at the stone floor. "How dare he interfere with my plans…?" He picked up his pacing once again as a very worn man walked to Slade's side and gingerly placed a small cup of tea on the armrest of his throne.
"Unacceptable. That's what it is. Unacceptable!" Again, the distressed man gripped the railing in anger as his head slowly rose and he squinted at the face on the screen. A small chuckle escaped his lips. "And now…what to do…"
At this, the masked villain rose and swiftly made his way to Briar's side. "The only thing we can do Mr. Cassinger; the obvious thing to do. We eliminate."
Briar massaged the bridge of his nose in aggravation. Then between clenched teeth he growled out, "How do you suppose we do that?" The stressed man stopped abruptly in his tracks before he turned his head up in a spiteful inclination as he sneered. "You're no assassin, Slade, and neither am I for that matter." Turning on his heel, Briar began to head for the doors. "I'll be back tomorrow, and you better have a solution, or you'll have to find another way to end the Titans. I'll take care of my son on my own. Understand?"
The doors slammed shut behind him echoing throughout the whole factory warehouse.
Slade narrowed his eye at the doors. "I may not be an assassin, Mr. Cassinger, but that's not an issue." He paused and called over his shoulder. "Is it, Alexander?" From the shadows emerged a young man in his late teens dressed in black jeans and a gray hoodie with a simple messenger bag slung across his torso. There were noticeably dark circles under his slate gray eyes. "No, sir."
"I didn't think so. Here." Slade flicked his wrist to the side and Alexander lowered his head to look down towards his feet when he heard something skitter across the cement flooring. It was a black and burnt orange disk with a silver 'S' etched upon its surface.
Alexander bent down to pick it up tentatively. "What is this?" He asked quietly. The villain circled back around and placed his hand upon the teen's shoulders. "You work for me now, Alexander. You know what to do. What needs to be done," Slade released his shoulders and moved a few feet to the side. "You're dismissed." With a final glare Alexander spun around and walked away sulkily.
The plotting man faced the image again. "Things are about to change, my dear Titans."
In the middle of the Titans' medical bay, Beast Boy sat in one of the many chairs within the room. His back mirrored by the large glass window withholding a breathtaking view of the city skyscrapers merging with the night sky. A heavy sigh left the teen's lips as he watched the pale empath's chest rise and fall with her even breathing. She was healing herself. As always, and the room was deathly quiet.
That is, until there was a soft knock on the med bay's doors.
"Beast Boy?" Came Terra's qualm, but confident voice.
The changeling's eyes darted from Raven to the doors, then back to Raven, then back to the doors. He stayed still, not bothering to actually get up to answer the door. Talking was one of the last things he wanted to do at the moment.
"Beast Boy, I know you're in there. You haven't left this room since we got back this afternoon. Let me in, please." Another sigh passed through Beast Boy, but nonetheless he rose from his chair and crossed the room in long, quick strides. When he opened the door, tired blue eyes peered up at him. "'Bout time." Terra spoke with a weak smile as she moved around the teen to walk into the med bay with a simple metal tray supporting a large bowl of tofu stir-fry, a small glass of soymilk, and a napkin under a fork.
"I was beginning to wonder if you'd ever open those doors, or if I'd have to break in." She chuckled slightly, her gaze never leaving the recovering empath.
Beast Boy shrugged and grunted quietly as he put his weight on his heels and leaned back on the wall. "What is it that you actually want, Terra? I told you that I don't have an interest in being in a relationship with you. I'm sorry, but-"
"Whoa, buddy," Terra cut him off quickly then sat down the metal tray on the bedside table. "I just came here to bring you your food. That's it. I didn't come here in hopes of getting back with you. Believe it or not, after you said, we didn't have anything in our future I left it at that. I've actually been seeing someone else…" Suddenly the geomancer became very interested in the floor tiles.
The changeling's eyes widened. "Oh really? That's, uhm, great." He stood up straight and rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Sorry, for, uh, jumping the gun just now…" A reddish tint spread across his cheekbones in embarrassment.
Terra shrugged and started for the door. "It's no big deal really. I…understand it, you know?" The doors opened letting the blonde stand in the open space separating the hallway from the med bay. "But, listen. Getting Raven isn't going to be easy. Cody loves Raven. I mean really loves her, and- "
Beast Boy's temper flared before she could finish. "Oh, and I don't? I've loved her since the day we met! I've loved her more than anyone ever has! More than I've loved anyone! More than I loved you!" The vein in his temple throbbed painfully, and the noise was deafening. As his blood cooled slightly and slowed to a more normal pace, the changeling realized what had just passed his lips. Remorse swelled inside him, however, no apology made it's way up his throat.
Cerulean eyes clouded with a sheen of hurt. But, Terra stayed calm and turned towards the hall. "My point is that it's going to be hard. Like I said, Cody isn't going to give her up so easily. Not to mention, you have Kelsey, Vladimir, and Jasper all looking out for him. Plus, this other chick Charlotte that just came in last week. Actually, I'm surprised they haven't kicked you out of here yet, and took over tending to her." There was a small pause of silence as the blonde took a breath and started walking away. "Look, you need to hold onto her tight. I know she makes you happy, and I want you to be happy. So don't let go. See you later." Terra disappeared around the corner as the doors shut on the hallway.
The green teen sighed and smiled although it didn't reach his eyes. "At least she understands." He murmured
Red-X's P.O.V.:
It'd been hours since Damian had drug me off from the warehouse down at the docs. I was furious, bruised, bumped, dead tired, and I've been throwing up constantly. Even before that man let me go. The moment we arrived here at his 'hideout' – otherwise known as the Cassinger estate where my charming father was born and raised – I totally upchucked all over his Persian rug.
After some intense yelling, a couple smacks upside the head, and even more messes on the floor (mostly my part), I locked myself up in one of the many guest bathrooms, and continued pouring more and more of that foul black liquid from my body into the toilet (sometimes missing; sometimes not).
Now, still sitting on the floor my hair a tangled mess full of sweat, oil, and vomit, and my face resting against the cool porcelain edge of the bathtub, I find myself incredibly warn out and pissed off. Every time I blinked I saw Beast Boy holding her. Raven. My Raven. Whenever I think about it, I feel sick all over again and toss up a whole other bucketful more of inky black foulness.
The burning sensation taking residence in my stomach has barely even dulled, and the burning in my throat has intensified ten-fold. I need to sleep. I really do, but it hurts to move.
Without really giving a second thought to the matter, I heaved more liquid into the porcelain throne before grabbing a towel off the rack to my right, jumbling it into a misshapen pillow, shoving it under my head on the floor (not really caring that it was sprinkled in vomit), and falling into a deep sleep.
Eight hours later –The feeling of being drowned is what woke me up.
I jerked upwards and spluttered as water streamed down my face and shirt, forming a puddle beneath me. I coughed and turned around furiously to find a smirking Damian holding an empty bucket.
"Morning, princess."
Shakily I rose to my feet and, to my surprise, didn't feel any nausea. "Was that really necessary?" I growled.
Damian shrugged and tossed me a towel. "Nope. Now clean up. Meet me in the den in twenty. There's something I want you to see." He walked out of the bathroom, and I turned to the shower aggravated. "Lousy…immature…jerk…stupid old man…"
"I heard that!" The elder yelled from somewhere out in the hallway. "Now, if you don't hurry I'll smack you so hard you won't even know who Meryl Streep is!"
Annoyed, I snapped, "Who?" and then smirked when a fist pounded on the door. "SHUT UP AND SHOWER ALREADY! I DON'T HAVE ALL THE TIME IN THE WORLD YOU KNOW!"
I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, yeah. I've heard it before old man." I turned back to the shower and turned on the water.
I stripped my clothes off and stepped into warm stream, letting the water relax my muscles. It felt good to have all the grime be washed away. It'd been awhile since I'd been able to enjoy a nice warm shower. However, all good things must come to an end as the water began to run cold and images of Beast Boy holding Raven began to stream through my mind. I clenched my fists and slammed the water off.
'If he even touches her I swear I'll…' my train of thought stopped to a halt as my footing went out of control and I barely caught myself as I went down. Groaning slightly, I stood back up and looked around the bathroom noticing a pair of dark jeans and a plain white t-shirt on the vanity.
After toweling myself off I got dressed, placed my dirty clothes in a hamper, and then walked out into the hallway. Although it took me awhile, I finally made it to the den.
I heard the recently familiar voice of my grandfather (which I was still coming to terms with), and another voice. A very familiar voice. A female voice. I sped up and rounded the corner to find Damian sitting in a leather arm chair with a small smile playing on his lips. Across from him sitting on a leather couch similar to the arm chair, sat a slender woman with jet black hair, with a heart shaped face decorated with laugh lines, and sparkling blue sapphire eyes.
My heart caught in my throat as the woman sent me a heart-warming smile then stood while setting down her drink. Damian also rose out of his chair, but kept his drink in his hand.
"Cody. It's about time you got out." He took a sip of his beverage while muttering, "You lazy bum."
The woman chuckled lightly and I thought I might drop at the sound of it. "Now, Damian. You're being too hard with him. Relax." She said this while never turning away from me.
"Hmph. You've gone soft, Alice." She laughed again and he smiled.
I started to breath faster and I'm pretty sure I was shaking. It felt like everything was crashing around me. She was here. She was literally here. I thought I might vomit. Again. After all these years of pain, of deception, of suffering… and here she was standing in the middle of my grandfather's den. There she was, and suddenly years after that fateful day didn't matter anymore. All that mattered was that the gap I felt since my eleventh birthday filled.
I took a tentative step forward and tried to calm my breathing.
I swallowed and did my best to speak.
"…Mom…?"
A smile graced her lips, and once again Alice Cassinger's eyes shone with the utmost happiness.
Whew! Well, I know it's short, but I've got a headache and I'm pretty tired. I hope you like this and get ready for a new chapter soon! All is not lost! I love you all! Review if you please! Oh, and how's that for a lovely cliffie?
Catch ya later,
Table for Two